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Garlic is one of my favorite vegetables to grow. I love that I get two harvests from the bulbs I plant in the fall. The first harvest, because I plant hardneck garlic, is the long, loopy garlic scape. Then a few weeks later, I pull the garlic bulbs to dry and store through the fall and winter. In this article, I’m going to share tips on trimming the scapes, as well as when to harvest garlic.
I usually spread my garlic crop out over a couple of my raised beds. If I still need space, I’ll pop a few extra here and there in an ornamental garden. I generally plant hardneck garlic, because it’s better suited to the climate where I live. For warmer climates, there is also softneck garlic. We have an article that explains the differences between hardneck and softneck garlic.
Before we talk about when to harvest garlic, let’s first discuss how to harvest garlic scapes and ensure they don’t go to waste!
When to harvest garlic scapes
Garlic scapes in my cold climate garden usually start to make their appearance sometime in June (this may differ if you’re in a different growing zone). Not all of my varieties are always ready at the same time, which is nice because I can harvest garlic scapes in batches and enjoy them for longer.
Garlic scapes are easy to discern from the rest of the plant because they kind of look like green onions with a long elf hat (the bulbil) at the end. You’ll know your scapes are ready to pick when they form a spiral. Simply cut the scape (I use my garden scissors) at the base where it comes out of the stalk. If the scapes become straight, after they’ve gone through their curling phase, they’re past their prime. They’ll be tougher than a younger fresh scape and taste more bitter.
Once I have a handful of scapes, I usually whip them into garlic scape pesto (some of which I’ll freeze in ice cube trays). I snip off the “elf hats” and simply use the stalk. If you don’t cut your scapes and leave them on the plant, the bulbils turn into flowers and seeds. Even if you don’t intend to eat your garlic scapes, it’s still a good idea to snip them at the base of their stalk so that all the energy can go back into growing the bulb underground.
When to harvest garlic
After you cut the garlic scapes, you have about a month or so until the garlic itself is ready. Keep an eye on your garlic as you’ll see some of the bottom leaves start to die back. The tips of the leaves may also start to turn yellow and brown in color. When there are two dry, dead leaves at the base of the plant with a third starting to die, this is when you should pull your garlic.
It may be hard to see the first leaf. The bulb is wrapped in several leaf layers. As a leaf dies, the soil bacteria help it to decompose.
How to harvest garlic
The best way to remove a garlic bulb depends on the variety you’ve planted. For Turban, Artichoke, and Silverskin varieties, you might want to use a sturdy trowel or even a small shovel. Make sure you place the tip of your tool slightly away from where the bulb is. You don’t want to damage it underground. Gently lift the soil beneath the bulb. Usually this nudges the bulb up a bit, loosening the soil enough to pull the stalk. Gently remove excess dirt, being careful not to bruise the bulb. Bruising affects the storage life.
If the soil seems reasonably loose, I’ll try pulling hardneck varieties, like Rocambole and Porcelain, because the stalks are super-thick and sturdy. You want to avoid breaking off the stalk because then you’ll need to go searching underground. Without a winter mulch, I’ve found myself before with a broken stalk in my hand and a clove of garlic still hiding beneath the soil.
Sometimes the soil and bulbs need a little coaxing. I’ve found that when I mulch my raised bed with straw in the fall, the soil is much looser than if I just leave the bed exposed for the winter.
What if you pull garlic too early?
It’s sometimes hard to know if a smaller head of garlic will keep growing, even if the bottom three leaves have died away. There is a rapid growth stage just before garlic is ready to harvest, so a few days could make a significant difference. But then sometimes a bulb is just going to be a runt no matter what.
Keeping squirrels away from your garlic
Even if though they don’t like garlic, squirrels seem to have special radar for disturbed garden soil. I’ve gone out to the garden to find a perfectly good clove laying on top of the soil. A layer of straw mulch helps to deter rodents. You can also lightly sprinkle hen manure over the site to deter squirrels.
Drying and storing garlic
Curing garlic basically means drying it out. You want lots of air flow and a cool place to cure it. Drying racks are great options because you can use them for other veggies and herbs, as well. I made my own drying rack out of screen stapled to a scrap wood frame. I place it on a stack of bricks or buckets in my garage so air flows underneath. In years past, I’ve also hung my garlic in bunches, secured by twine around the stalks, in the garage. You can braid the stalks to store, as well.
After my garlic has dried, I’ll “clean” it by gently removing dirt and debris, and perhaps one outer dried layer, over a bucket. I’ll trim the long stalk off, so I have a clove like what you’d see at the grocery store. I learned a clever storage trick from Jessica. She stores garlic in egg cartons.
Hi. Thanks for all of the useful tips. I planted garlic for the first time this year (both soft and hard varieties). Though I may have planted them too soon for the weather – I am in the mid Atlantic region (near Philadelphia) and planted Oct 1. It’s Oct 13 can already see green stalks growing in my outside raised bed and I also planted a few in the greenhouse bags. I have two questions. 1) I am curious if the scapes in the greenhouse will keep going and I will be able to harvest garlic in late winter/early spring? 2) will the garlic in the raised outdoor bed be problematic in spring given some of them are pushing through already? Thanks so much for your guidance.
Hi Rita, I don’t have experience growing in a greenhouse, but it does take garlic about nine months to mature. For the outdoor garlic, early sprouting can happen in the fall during especially warm spells. Once really cold weather hits, it will stop growing and resume in the spring. I would add a bit of mulch to the garden (straw or shredded leaves) to act as a bit of an insulator for the winter.
I read an article that when garlic scapes form two circles they are ready to harvest. Is that a good rule of thumb to follow?
And where do you recommend to cut the garlic scapes?
Hi Rusty,
Two loops is definitely a good rule to follow. Sometimes they just form one. I recommend cutting where they come out of the plant, above the leaves.
Thank you for this information! – Garlic Lover
How do you determine when the garlic has cured enough to cut off the tops? I had an issue last year with a lot of my garlic drying up or getting moldy over the winter, and I wondered if I cut off the stalks too soon. It was curing in a less than ideal location in my garage, so I’m thinking I should have given it more time.
Hi Sandy, usually about 3 to 4 weeks is recommended. It could be that there isn’t enough air circulation in your garage, or it’s too damp, which could account for the mould.
Hi there, How long do I wait until we can cook with the garlic after harvesting?
You can cook with it right away, but it will be softer. It takes anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks to “cure.”
My garlic is ready to harvest – can I use it for pickling now since my cucumbers are ready too?
Hi Fran,
If it hasn’t yet cured, it may be a little harder to mince, but if you’re putting in whole cloves, it should be fine. Here are some tips on preserving garlic. http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/files/251548.pdf
How can I amend my soil for planting in the fall? What should I add to it?
Hi Debbi, I would top-dress your soil with a couple of inches of compost.
Ok I left the scape on and they have not flowered a green yet but are tiny cloves themselves. What should I do? Let them flower or cut them off?
Hi Susan, I would cut them off so that the energy can go into the bulb!
This is the 2nd year I’ve grown Russian garlic in a community garden plot in Surrey BC. Last year it produced scapes but this year it didn’t. This year’s crop was planted with cloves from last years crop and actually produced bigger bulbs. Any ideas why?
That’s odd that the scapes didn’t come up. I know mine were very late and ready pretty much at the same time as the garlic bulbs (I cut the scapes and pulled the garlic within days of each other).
My garlic heads are small do I need to leave them in the pots longer. This my first year growing garlic.
Hi Joan, sometimes some of my garlic heads come out small, as well. Their size might also depend on the size of the pot they’re in, what’s planted close by, etc. My rule of thumb is to wait until the bottom three leaves have died and then I pull, no matter what. I usually have a mix of big and small heads.
It may be the type of garlic you planted is small or the pots are small. Some types of garlic that make very large cloves are Northern White and Musik, sometimes spelled Music. Both are hardneck and have 5-8 nice big cloves.
Do you cut the garlic scapes when they have looped once? Or do you cut after they have two loops?
One loop is generally the rule of thumb. After that they start to straighten out.